Far Right

Reprinted in commemoration of Brian Sicknick and other victims of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The damning Jan. 6 public hearings revealed a plethora of historical detail, but they also shed light on character. Some of these revelations were profiles in pusillanimity. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), one of the slimiest […]

Donald Trump

Suspected of Sedition, Trump Joins Rogues’ Gallery of Aaron Burr and Jefferson Davis

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Ali Vitali, Kate Santaliz and Haley Talbot at NBC News report that the January 6 Committee of the House of Representatives met Sunday to finalize their recommendation, to be announced today, that they will refer Donald J. Trump to the Department of Justice on three charges: “obstructing an official proceeding, […]

Donald Trump

Forget the Deplorables and Focus on the Persuadables: The Code behind the Far Right’s Success

John Feffer

( Tomdispatch.com) – Arizona is ground zero for the wackiest theories and craziest political candidates. Exhibit A: Kari Lake, the Republican who ran for governor in the recent midterm elections. Though she lost in November, she’s still campaigning — on social media, in the courts, and in her own beclouded imagination. She refuses to accept […]

Far Right

The Holy War of Saint Ron DeSantis on Florida’s Voters

OtherWords

By Jim Hightower | – ( Otherwords.org ) – Breaking news: After years of failed Republican efforts to uncover any proof of widespread voter fraud by Democrats, Republican Governor Ron “Tough Guy” DeSantis of Florida found not one, but 20 ineligible people casting ballots. Like Donald Trump and a gaggle of other GOP governors, DeSantis […]

Far Right

Oath Keepers Convictions shed Light on the Limits of free Speech – and the Threat posed by Militias

The Conversation

By Amy Cooter, Middlebury Institute of International Studies | – The verdicts in a high-profile, monthslong trial of Oath Keepers militia members were, as one defense lawyer acknowledged, “a mixed bag.” Leader Stewart Rhodes was found guilty on Nov. 29, 2022, of the most serious charge – seditious conspiracy – for his role in the […]

Constitution

It isn’t Enough that Oath Keepers were Convicted of Seditious Conspiracy: Trump must be, Too

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Ryan Lucas and Carrie Johnson at NPR report that on Tuesday, a jury convicted five leaders of the fascist Oath Keepers militia of “obstructing an official proceeding” by being involved in the invasion of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in an attempt to keep Congress from certifying the election […]

Donald Trump

The MAGAfication of America: The White Nationalist Coup isn’t Over

Tomdispatch

By Clarence Lusane | – ( Tomdispatch.com) – Just in case you didn’t notice, authoritarianism was on the ballot in the 2022 midterm elections. An unprecedented majority of candidates from one of the nation’s two major political parties were committed to undemocratic policies and outcomes. You would have to go back to the Democratic Party-dominated […]

Donald Trump

SCOTUS: Chair of Arizona GOP, Kelli Ward, must turn over her Phone Records to Jan. 6 House Panel

Cronkite News Arizona PBS

By Tori Gantz | – ( Cronkite News ) – WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court said Monday that Arizona Republican Party Chairwoman Kelli Ward has to comply with a subpoena and turn over her phone records to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6th insurrection. Ward had argued that the House Select Committee Investigating the […]

Authoritarianism

Politics and pulpits: Christians and Republicans team up to watch the Polls Tuesday

Minnesota Reformer

By Deena Winter | – The Minnesota Reformer BUFFALO — A flag hanging from a telephone pole marked the turnoff to the Land of Promise. It was unseasonably warm for late October, but three dozen Minnesotans chose to spend their Saturday here, at a church on the north side of Beebe Lake. Inside a building, […]